Illustration: Daniel Zender
Can Trump Take Control of the Federal Reserve?
The US president regularly blasts the central bank and pressures its chair. Now, he’s moved to fire one of its seven governors.
President Donald Trump is on a relentless campaign to pressure the Federal Reserve into cutting interest rates, renewing the question of how much a US president can and should influence an institution designed to be independent.
The Fed’s resolve to hold interest rates steady so far this year has deeply angered Trump. He’s questioned the central bank’s decision making, regularly lambasted Chair Jerome Powell, and publicly flirted with the possibility of firing him. In an unprecedented step, Trump moved on Aug. 25 to dismiss Lisa Cook, one of seven members of the Fed’s Board of Governors, over allegations she lied on mortgage applications. Cook, whose term was not set to expire until 2038, filed a lawsuit against Trump, arguing his attempt to remove her was unlawful and violated the central bank’s independence.